@@@@@I don't know where she could have gotten
@@@@@I don't
know where she could have gotten such an ideaSure you don't want a Coke?"
"Thanks, but I'll pass
I got up and got a Coke from the kitchen fridgeI
tucked the bottle firmly between my stump and my
chest-wall - possible but painful, I don't know
what you may have seen in the movies, but broken
ribs hurt for a long time - and spun off the cap
with my left handCaught a break
there, muchacho, as Wireman says
"I'm surprised you'd take her seriously in any
case," I said as I came back in"Kathi's a hell
of a physical therapist, but a headshrinker she's
not I paused before sitting down"Neither are
you, actuallyIn the technical sense
28
Kamen cupped an enormous hand behind an ear that
looked roughly the size of a desk drawera ratcheting noise? I believe I do!"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's the charmingly medieval sound a person's
defenses make when they go up He tried an ironic
wink, but the size of the man's face made irony
impossible; he could only manage burlesqueStill,
I took the point"As for Kathi Green, you're
right, what does she know? All she does is work
with paraplegics, quadriplegics, accident-related
amps like you, and people recovering from
traumatic head injuries - again, like youFor
fifteen years Kathi's done this work, she's had
the opportunity to watch a thousand maimed
patients reflect on how not even a single second
of time can ever be called back, so how could she
possibly recognize the signs of pre-suicidal
depression?"
I sat in the lumpy easy chair across from the
couch and stared at him sullenly
And Kathi Green was more
29
He leaned forwardalthough, given his girth, a
few inches was all he could manage"You have to
wait," he saidBut I'm not a
Christian, let alone a Catholic, and on the
subject of suicide my mind is openYet I'm a
believer in responsibilities, I know that you are,
too, and I tell you this: if you kill yourself
noweven six months from nowyour wife and
daughters will knowNo matter how cleverly you do
it, they'll kn